Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Since I've been gettings lots of questions on the J. Crew Sample Sale I have been bragging talking about I figured I'd give you the low down.

We live a couple of hours from Asheville, NC. I very cool little town - lots of hipsters and stuff.

One of their main attractions is the J. Crew Warehouse. (there's also one in Lynchburg, VA)

A few weeks back, John & I were making our first trip to Asheville - mainly to enjoy the nice fall weather. We googled J. Crew and found out that there was a Factory Store so we ventured out to it and noticed it looked more like a Warehouse than a store. When I got to the door - I found out that the Warehouse had been opened that day and had closed just 5 minutes prior to our arrival. Que the tears... I was heartbroken. Fortunatly, the outlet was still opened so we went inside to browse and get John a tie.

I inquired about how often the Warehouse sale happened and the little girl working informed me that it's only open on occasion - and that the next time it would be open would be for Black Friday.

So the Wednesday before Black Friday I got this e-mail...

I had to work Black Friday/Saturday so I didn't plan on going... until my friend Morgan asked me on Sunday... we figured we wouldn't find much since it was the last day... boy,were we wrong!

Evidently - they replenish the inventory on Sunday!

So here's what it actually looks like. It's not glamourous - at all.

When you walk in - you are given a piece of paper that lists all the prices and a clear trash bag.

The paper just lists products like...

"Dresses: $20"

"Shorts: $8"

"Denim: $10"

I could write a novel on tips for surviving a sample sale. Like, what to wear, who to take with you, etc.

Fortunatly - I had on the right clothing. You can't try clothes on - so you have to slip clothing on over your own garments. When Morgan & I walked in - we were overwhelmed. We split up immediatly and since we work together - we already knew what size each other wore. Thus, if I found something I loved - I would look for a second one in the same size for her. We ended up with a couple of the same things.

It's very warm in there - and it's a little tiring because you are throwing everything you might possibly like into your bag.... making you feel a little like Santa.

I tried to avoid any actual "Sample" items - a lot of times you can see the black marker through the other side of the garment.

For the most part - everything we bought was perfectly find - no writing or damages.

I bought 5 items... I spent a total of $46.00 on product. In a second I will break down what the actual cost really is... it'll blow your mind. I was bummed because I saw TONS of Chino shorts - in my size - that I already own...

Morgan spent $120 - she bought 8 things. One of which was a Blazer that's on J. Crew's website for... $220.00. She got it for $10? I think.

When you check out they tally up what you purchased... so the hot pink dress I am wearing today - was supposed to be $20.00 but he called it a "Women's Top" which was only $10.00 We really liked our guy!

All smiles on our way back home! We felt like champs - even my dad can't get that good of a deal!

Morgan's AWESOME deal - her black/white maxi dress is STUNNING! Of course I love it with the blazer!

*Sidenote - please, please, please - enter to win the Firmoo voucher - the contest ENDS on next Monday! You'be got 6 days and the chances of YOU winning are very likely - 25 winners will be chosen! Just think... FREE glasses! * It's the previous post!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

My little blog here was actually created to be more like that of a journal or diary. A place to record the things that John and I are up to, not only for us, but for our friends and families to view. If you are new, I should inform you that I am a born & raised Arkansan. I never planned on leaving that state simply because my family means more to me than anything.

Insert John...

As I was saying, my blog has changed a lot in the last 10 months. I've made many friends and have been presented with many cool opportunities. However, I think it's time for a post dedicated to The Sweetest Thing's originality.

I'm always asked "how's marriage?"

I decided that 4 months is long enough to know exactly "how" marriage is...

1. Marriage is living with your best friend.

I like to refer to marriage as one big slumber party.

Most every evening, we cook dinner together with the 2000s R&B Pandora station playing loudly.

We RedBox movies. Bake cookies. Go out for walks. Dance. Watch YouTube videos. And just sit together chatting about our day and laughing.

2. Marriage is having a built-in Doctor/Caretaker. (no, really.)

Growing up, if I were sick, my mom would say, "oh I wish it were me in pain and not you." I never understood why she wanted my pain! But, I get it now. John doesn't get sick often, but when he does I wish it could be me instead. I hate seeing him feel badly.

On the other side of that, if I wake up in the middle of the night feeling badly, he gets up too. He gets medicine, water, etc. and talks with me until I fall back asleep. He's always serving others, something that made me fall in love with him in the first place.

3. Marriage is give & take.

No longer are the days that I watch whatever I want, eat whatever I want, spend money on whatever I want. Indeed, those days are great, but they came to a short end when we got married. Of course, its 100% worth it.

John & I have to compromise on a lot. I want to watch Pretty Little Liars, he wants to watch some silly, "important" game. I want to eat sushi, he wants pizza. You get the point.

4. Marriage is family.

I had a friend once tell me that you marry the person - not their family. But, the truth is you do marry their family, and it's a beautiful thing! Not only do we each have an extra set of parents, we have an extra set of siblings. And for John & me, our lives are more diversified - his family has a huge medical background and mine, education. We just need a good dentist in the family now!

John refers to my brother & sister's kids as "our" nieces & nephews. In fact, he refused to download Instagram - so I downloaded it while he wasn't looking. Now, everytime I see him staring at his phone he's stalking my sister & sister-in-law's Instagrams to see photos of the kids.

5. {our} Marriage is God-centered.

Before marriage, we did a study called Real Marriage by Mark Driscoll. I highly recommend the book to everyone - especially those who are single (yes, I said that. It will help you determine what is really important in finding a spouse.) We both love God more than we love one another, something that helps our love grow larger and larger every. single. day.John is a very bright guy, I am always learning from him. I love studying the Bible with him because he sees stories/verses from the Bible in a whole different way than myself, thus I'm challenged and continuously learning.6. Marriage is making life sweeter.If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that John leaves me a cheesy/sweet note each morning. He always has an inside joke or something really funny or really sweet in the note just to make me laugh or smile when I wake upLikewise, John is a man with a sweet tooth like no other. If I bring a PB Twix home he's the happiest guy on the planet.One thing I've learned about being married, is that we both are happier if we are making each other happier. Neither of us are too creative but we've both figured out ways to make each other smile! 7. Marriage is"work".Many of my girlfriends in college wanted to get an M.R.S. degree. They wanted to meet the one and play wife. For some reason, I never wanted that... I had career goals that I had set my sights on. But, as I've learned... I plan my life and God laughs and does something way better than my plans! When John and I were only friends he told me, "I will not date until after medical school!"... HA! That worked out well for him;)! When I decided to move off and "follow" John as he ventured through his medical school journey - I knew I was putting my career goals on hold. Marriage is work... life dreams are put on hold/changed. Laundry has to be done...but for two. Dinner for two must be cooked... and cannot be too healthy or someone won't touch it. The list could go on...As for John, I know his patience has grown even more than ever after the last four months of WAITING on me... he hates being late. I'm always late. You see the pattern? It's not all butterflies and hearts - but goodness, it's not far from it considering we don't mind the "work" that is involved. I will end on 7 since the number holds so much significance. And for humor's sake... let me share with you a note left by John this morning. As I said on Instagram... spelling is not his strong suit!